Kitchen Queries

Welcome to Kitchen Queries, where the nigella.com team will answer your cooking or food related questions. We’d love you to submit some of your recipe problems, dilemmas or queries for us to get our teeth into!

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Instant Pancake Mix

I watched Nigella making pancakes on TV and have just made a batch using her Instant Pancake Mix. I used 150g of the mix and added the rest of the wet ingreadients from the recipe. However my mixture looked a little wetter and I was wondering if I should have let it stand a little before use? It didn't say to do this in the recipe. Chris x

Posted by chrissieb. Answered on 7th Mar 2012 at 12.00

From the nigella team:

The Home-Made Instant Pancake Mix appears in Nigella Express (p93) and can also be found via the link below. The pancakes are American-style pancakes, so they are thicker and fluffier than crepes. The mix can be used straightaway as the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the mixture will create air bubbles as the pancakes cook and make them rise.

The mixture will thicken slightly as it stands. The starches in the flour will absorb some liquid and swell up slightly and the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda will start to release bubbles into the mixture which will also make it appear thicker. This can make slightly thicker pancakes but in our experience the difference is very small. If you want to let the batter stand then leave it for 5 to 10 minutes before using. However with this type of batter you should not leave it to stand for too long as the leavening agents will expire and the pancakes will not rise.